Iron County register., 1887-11-03
TOMMY'S SCHOOL.
How and Why He Changed His Mind, and
What Came of 1t.


long vacation; '.I' m goin' to have pea
nuts all shelled, and eat 'em when
teacher isn't lookin', and Tn goin' to
do lots O. things to make the other
boys laugh, and I'm goin' to act so
teacher II have to send me home. then
l won't have to go to school any more;
chee-hee, won't that be fun'' and a
pair of boyish heels went up into the
air as Tommy threw himself back on
the sofa and chuckled at what he
thought very smart speech.
Susie, who was eight years old, two
years younger than Tommy, looked a
little shocked at first, but when Tom
my laughed SO gaily she laughed, too,
then she said:
Eyes, but what will mamma say to
such things, and papa? Oh, papa IL
be dreadful sober and say: MY little
son!' in that way that always makes me
cry right out when he says: MY little
daughter!''
"Oh, mamma will be kinder sorry at
first" said Tommy, blandly, s'but she
will get over it pretty soon, and as to
papa, oh, I'd make it all right with
papa when told him how a feller
hates to study;" and Tommy thrust his
thumbs into the armholes of his blouse
and tried to whistle.
Fortunately, mamma was in the hall,
and just about to enter the room when
Tommy began his smart remarks, and
so heard every word the children said.
She went quickly back upstairs, and
neither Tommy nor Susie suspected
she had heard a word.
But just as their mother expected
would be the case, when bedtime was
approaching that night Tommy began
asking for story, and Susie put down
her dolly to help Tommy tease for what
they both liked so much. one of their
mammals nice stories. Papa was over
by the table reading, but his face was
behind the paper, and the children
knew the sound of mammals voice
would not disturb him at all.
So after Tommy had seated himself
on an ottoman with his hands in his
mamma's lap, and Susie was nestled
close beside her, mamma began:
''Once upon time there was fine
looking young man who was very un-
fortunate, and very much to be pitied.
He had good manners, and also had
the appearance of having been well
brought up, but the trouble was, he
was not faithful in any thing. When
he first went into town and tried to
find work, he would generally succeed
in getting some thing to do in a store
perhaps, and for little while he would
seem to do very well, but 1t was never
long before those who had employed
him would find that he was not to be
trusted, so he would be obliged to leave
and try to find some other place or EN-
ployment.
1.-The time would come when every
one in the town would know all about
him, and he would have to go some
where else and begin all over again to
try finding work by which to feed him.
self. This was not at all a happy life
to lead, for of course he had no settled
home, no friends in particular, and but
very little. money, some times not
enough to buy things he really needed.
Besides all this there was no kind
of business he could engage in except
the very simplest, because he had
never learned how to do the things
which bring in money to any amount,
and are what we call profitable. Don't
you think he must have felt very badly
when he thought of his boyhood and
his comfortable home and kind pa
rentsp'
..Did he ever have nice home and
good parentsP' asked Tommy.
Certainly, just as nice a home as
you have, and just as kind parents
'.Then why didn't they teach him
things, and send him to SCHOOL,"
asked Tommy, his great blue eyes wide
open.
''Oh, they did," said mamma. HE
was always carefully dressed in the
neatest clothes, provided with the best
of food, and watched over as tenderly
as you are through his boyish years,
and every day he was sent with his
little sister to one of the finest
schools"
''Then why didn't he learn and grow
up to be faithful young man, and
have home and some money, and
lots of friends?" asked interested Tom
my.
''Well, that is very sad thing to
tell about" answered mamma, speak
ing very slowly. "But the trouble is,
when child first begins to do wrong,
especially wheu he means and plans
to do it, it is almost next to impossible
to get back into the right path again.
And the truth is, hatyoung man, when
little boy, all at once made up his
mind after havinga long, happy vaca-
ton, that he wouldn't study any more
nor behave well in school. So he would
start out in the morning nicely dress
ed, well fed, and with his mothers
fond kiss on his cheek; then he would
enter the school room and eat peanuts
he had already shelled, and when the
teacher wasn't looking he would do a
great many things to make the other